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“I was teaching my son”: The accidental 1970s number one hit Paul Simon called “basically nonsense”
Paul Simon’s ‘50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ became his first and only solo number-one hit, reaching the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 on Valentine’s Day in 1976. Simon called it a “fluke” and “basically a nonsense song”, but its playful treatment of break-ups helped make it resonate with listeners.
He wrote it while going through a divorce, building the song around a line that came to him on waking and using an electronic drum machine to shape its sing-song rhythm. Simon later said he was teaching his young son Harper about rhymes; the song lists only five ways to leave, despite its title. Steve Gadd’s marching drumbeat and backing vocals by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson and Phoebe Snow add to its distinctive sound.
In short
- Simon’s only solo US number-one was an accidental hit.
- He wrote the song while divorcing his first wife.
- Its rhymes began as a lesson for his young son.